First-time buyers, single-income earners take biggest hit with new mortgage rules

New rules aimed at making it harder to get a mortgage took effect Monday, and people in the industry say thechanges will likely have the greatest impact on first-time buyers and single-income families.

"People kind of stretching to get into the housing market, because money's fairly cheap to borrow, they're now going to be challenged to qualify," Edmonton realtor Patti Proctor said on Monday.

The new rules, announced by the federal government earlier this month, amount to what has beendescribed as a "stress test."

Buyers who want a mortgage formore than 80 per cent of a home's value will be income tested to determine if they could still afford the payments if mortgage rates went up bytwo per cent.

Buyers who don't pass the testwill be turned down, even though they don't actually have to pay the extra money.

Before the new rules, a family with an annual income of $80,000 would likely have qualified to buy a $400,000 house, said Krishna Gupta, a broker with Alberta Mortgage Centre.

Now they would likely qualify for a house priced at $320,000, he said.

"They have to lower their expectation from buying a single-family home ... to either a half-duplex or a condo," Gupta said.

Rather than do that, some people are putting off a home purchase until they have saved more for thedown payment, he said.

Proctorshe said she wasbusy over the last two weeks with buyers trying to complete purchases before the rule changed.

"It's been 25-per-cent busier for this time of year," she said.

Gupta describedthe current real estate market in Edmonton as "cool," butProctor called it "stable."

"Edmonton seems to have dodged the big bullet in the single-family (housing market), condos have definitely been hit harder," Proctor said.

There are specific factors affecting the condominium market, including plenty of new building, she said.

"In general,the single-family and semi-detached homes have sold really well," said Proctor."We haven't seen a huge drop in prices."